Conveyors are used in a number of applications, including the singulation, separation (gapping), and sortation of products, packages, luggage, etc. (hereafter “articles”). Such conveyors typically employ either a number of parallel rollers arranged perpendicular to the conveyor's flow direction, or one or more continuous belts that carry articles in the flow direction. In some belt conveyors, each section of the conveyor employs only a single, wide belt for transporting articles. In others, called “narrow belt” conveyors, a plurality of relatively narrow belts are arranged parallel to one another in each section, such that each article may, and generally will, be simultaneously carried by multiple belts.
It is, of course, necessary to somehow introduce, or “induct,” articles onto a conveyor, and a number of techniques for accomplishing that objective have been disclosed in the prior art. Most commonly in these prior art systems, articles are inducted onto the end of the conveyor, or are inducted at approximately a forty-five degree angle with respect to the flow path of the conveyor, and are accelerated to the speed of the flow path prior to induction. Disclosed herein are novel apparatuses and methods for inducting articles onto a conveyor that differ significantly from, and constitute marked improvements over, prior art article induction systems and methods.